C-clips (also known as circlips or snap rings) are generally known in the art to consist of an open-ring or c-shaped clip used, for example, to engage an annular groove circumferentially formed within a bore or on the surface of a shaft, or the like. Such installation generally serves to restrict axial movement of parts abutting the clip without impeding rotation, for example.
Various tools have been developed to facilitate installation of c-clips on a shaft, such as described in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2010/01923445 to Monyak et al., and U.S. Pat. No. 7,210,219 to Thai.
Installation of such clips for engagement with a corresponding recess or groove formed within and circumscribing a bore, however, can prove more difficult. Some tools and techniques have nonetheless been proposed to facilitate such installations, whereby the clip is generally introduced within the bore by various means, compressed, and ultimately released for engagement with the recess. Some examples are provided in U.S. Pat. No. 7,827,888 to Tatsumi, U.S. Pat. No. 6,789,313 to Hendricks, U.S. Pat. No. 6,507,985 to Loughlin et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,134,168 to Erdmann, and U.S. Pat. No. 1,740,590 to Hardman.
As will be appreciated by the skilled artisan, the above and other such techniques suffer from various drawbacks. Therefore, there remains a need for a resilient ring-shaped clip installation method and apparatus that overcome some of the drawbacks of known technologies, or at least, provides the public with a useful alternative.
This background information is provided to reveal information believed by the applicant to be of possible relevance to the present invention. No admission is necessarily intended, nor should be construed, that any of the preceding information constitutes prior art against the present invention.